[EL] ELB News and Commentary 7/13/16

[Rick Hasen]

“Slain Democratic National Committee staffer ‘wanted to make a difference’”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84223>
Posted on July 12, 2016 8:37 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84223> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

So sad<https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/police-identify-man-fatally-shot-in-bloomingdale/2016/07/11/4236fd1a-4754-11e6-90a8-fb84201e0645_story.html>:

Seth Rich made such an impression as a teenage intern in Nebraska that a U.S. Senate campaign hired him before he completed high school. A young man who dreamed politics, he headed to Capitol Hill after college.

As a staffer at the Democratic National Committee, Rich worked tirelessly on a project to help voters easily find their polling places. But he was lighthearted, too, sometimes pulling on a sweatshirt adorned with a picture of a panda, his favorite animal, just to make co-workers laugh.

Early Sunday morning, the 27-year-old was shot to death in a crime that has shaken not only his family, colleagues and friends, but also many in his Bloomingdale neighborhood of Northwest. Police said they have no suspects, witnesses or motive, though they are looking at whether Rich could have been slain in an attempted robbery.
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Posted in election law biz<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=51>


Justice Kennedy on the Internet<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84221>
Posted on July 12, 2016 8:20 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84221> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

HIs opinion matters<http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/politics/justice-kennedy-talks-internet-hamilton-scalia-at-conference-in-big/article_87890c38-68d3-5630-9784-ee95e22f9bd6.html>, as we all know:

The question that elicited his longest answer, however, was how the internet has changed lives and civil discourse.

“We’re just beginning to understand it,” Kennedy said. “Many in the modern age confuse a selfie and your self.”

Kennedy elaborated, saying the self is “an idea, a projection, a promise that you have formed over your past and you identify yourself as having a certain role.”
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Posted in Supreme Court<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>


“Hillsboro mayor, standup comedian Drew Hastings indicted”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84218>
Posted on July 12, 2016 3:46 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84218> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Cincinnati Enquirer<http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2016/07/12/hillsboro-mayor-standup-comedian-drew-hastings-indicted/86995740/>:

A small-city mayor who’s also a veteran standup comedian was indicted Tuesday on four felony counts including election falsification and theft in office.

The state auditor’s office announcement followed a monthslong investigation of Republican Hillsboro Mayor Drew Hastings by special prosecutors appointed by a Highland County judge. The counts also include theft and tampering with records.

Hastings said he has done nothing wrong and was “mystified” when he was served with the indictment while having lunch at a restaurant.

“I’m only guilty of trying to represent our citizens without the consent of an established political structure,” Hastings said.

Among allegations probed were improper personal use of Hillsboro city trash bins, a $500 vacant building fee refund he received and election falsification concerning his residency in the city of 6,600 residents, where he has a downtown apartment. He has called the investigation a politically motivated “witch hunt” and a waste of taxpayers’ money.
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Posted in chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, residency<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=38>


Lessig Claims Victory in Campaign Finance Fight<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84216>
Posted on July 12, 2016 3:39 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84216> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

At Medium.<https://medium.com/@lessig/on-what-happened-today-3b5f6ad28784#.fviiyq49n>

Larry tweets <https://twitter.com/lessig/status/752999449534861313> that he did not claim victory: ” I did not! All the credit went to @everyvoice<https://twitter.com/EveryVoice>.”
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>


“State board approves Kobach’s proposal on suspended voters”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84214>
Posted on July 12, 2016 3:39 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84214> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Wichita Eagle:<http://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article89064557.html>

A small group of state officials approved a new voting system for the upcoming primary and general elections before 9 a.m. on Tuesday.

The Rules and Regulations Board voted 4-0 to approve Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s proposal to allow 17,000 Kansans to vote in federal – but not state and local – elections this year.

The policy was approved before the public had an opportunity to comment and only a few minutes after the secretary of state’s office had posted it online….

Critics say the policy sets up a tiered voting system – which was already ruled unconstitutional by a Kansas district court judge last year – by creating three categories of voters.

People who have provided proof of citizenship will be able to vote in all elections. People who registered through a DMV but did not provide proof of citizenship will be allowed to vote in federal races only, while suspended voters, who tried to register by some other means, will still be barred from voting in all races.

Mark Johnson, an attorney representing suspended voters in the federal lawsuit, said this will create a great deal of confusion for voters.

“Voters will come to the polls not knowing if they can vote,” Johnson said. “If they vote, they’re not going to know who they’re going to be voting for. If they find out later that their votes didn’t count, it’s certainly going to undermine the credibility of the election process.
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Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>


--
Rick Hasen
Chancellor's Professor of Law and Political Science
UC Irvine School of Law
401 E. Peltason Dr., Suite 1000
Irvine, CA 92697-8000
949.824.3072 - office
949.824.0495 - fax
rhasen at law.uci.edu<mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>
http://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/
http://electionlawblog.org<http://electionlawblog.org/>
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